Lynn, MA—Known by many as the “Cheers of the North Shore,” Fran’s Place is closing its doors on September 26.
Its owner, Jay Collins, along with many patrons, considers Fran’s the oldest gay bar in Massachusetts still in operation, a distinction that very well may be true, especially given its roots going back to days when even bars were “in the closet.” In any case, Fran’s Place is certainly one of the oldest and most beloved.
A farewell party is planned at Fran’s for Saturday, September 24.
Fran’s has been a gathering place of many firsts. First to enter a float in the Boston Pride parade, first to hold an AIDS fundraiser and one of the first to host a gay wedding in the state, Collins told itemlive.com in a September 15 report, which took a look back at the storied establishment:
Collin’s grandfather, John, first opened the business as a tavern around the 1920s. While he has been unable to find anything documenting the exact year or location, he knows it was located somewhere in the city.
“I remember my father distinctly saying it was there before and after prohibition,” he said.
In 1940, It was passed on to his parents, Fran and Robert. It reopened as The Lighthouse Cafe at its current Washington Street location. When Robert Collins died in 1975, his wife and children took over the business, calling it Fran’s Place.
A bowling alley next door, King’s Lynn Lanes, attracted ladies from a women’s bowling league to stop in for drinks. Many of the women were gay, Collins said.
“My mother treated them nice,” he said. “At first I don’t think she was even sure they were gay. They started inviting some of their male friends and they would all be dancing. Then we knew. They were always nice people and my parents respected them. That crowd dominated the straight crowd and it got bigger and bigger until it was known as a gay bar.”
Fran’s quickly became a haven for many people who had a hard time finding a place to be themselves.”
“It’s been a savior to a lot of young people,” the bar’s general manager Robert “Tish” Muise told NECN in a September 16 report. “They know that they can come here and be safe, be happy and be themselves.”
“It’s very sad,” said Muise, who started working at Fran’s 34 years ago. “But actually happy, too. There’s a lot of memories but the time is now and things are going good, so this is the time to sell,” said Muise.
According to the foodie business blog Eater Boston, “the sale of the property will likely be completed by the end of the month.”
Calling it “the end of an era,” Lynn Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy told itemlive, “Not only has Fran’s been a very welcoming place to everyone in the community but it is one of the last good dance clubs on the North Shore. I will miss it and I hope that somehow, someway it will be able to be revived in the city of Lynn.”
